Always good-byes

We are moving again. Leaving a place that has become home. Tomorrow.

Poor David. His life of late is always good-byes. Good-bye to his daddy. Good-bye to his summer camp. (What a wonderful program we found for him!) Good-bye to his swim teacher. (Do you think she would move to Texas if I asked?) Good-bye to his cousins. Good-bye to new friends.

And this morning's good-bye nearly broke him. Every Tuesday he has attended Kaelena's camp. Kaelena is a 10-year-old girl we met at church who does a small summer camp in her home once a week. She is amazing--patient, creative, loving, affectionate, mature, and fun. For David, I think it was love at first sight. The highlight of his summer has been spending time with Kaelena, who lovingly took him under her wing. Today was the last day of camp. It was a pajama party. David was beside himself when I picked him up. This is just too much change. My heart aches for my sweet boy, for all the good-byes he must say.

I, too, have to say good-bye. Good-bye, Park City. To your mountains and wildflowers. Your sunshiny days and crisp, cool evenings. Your free public buses, your farmer's market, your ski jumpers, your chair lifts, your trails. Good-bye to your amazing Primary in the Kimball Ward. Good-bye to your summer camps, your field house, your swimming pool. Good-bye to your outlets and your very own Cafe Rio. Good-bye to your Main Street, your clinic, and the caffeine-free diet Coke at the Jeremy Store. And good-bye to your proximity to so many friends and family. I know there is even more I will miss. But I must end my list here, that I might go to bed.

Because tomorrow I'm leaving.

Good-bye.

Oh to crawl in a hole and die

Remember how our dear, thoughtful friends so kindly threw us a fabulous going-away party? Would you like to know how we thanked them?

We sent them our kid's emergency room bill. (How's that for gratitude?)

Actually, it was our insurance company that sent them the bill. We didn't know anything about it!! Until THEIR homeowners insurance company called us to ask about David's accident. Oh the embarrassment, the UTTER HUMILIATION--to realize that Tricare has spent the summer trying to squeeze every possible nickel out of our friends' pockets. In our name! I am ill right now thinking about it. (Where is that hole for crawling into?)

How did this happen? I guess because we're naive. Or, more accurately...stupid?

Yes, David fell off a playhouse in their backyard during the party and hurt his wrist--under our supervision. Since we were heading west the very next day, we took him to our very own Air Force emergency room that night--thinking that would be infinitely less complicated than trying to find some urgent care clinic in the middle of Nebraska. Sure, there was a lot of paperwork--more than usual--but we assumed they were screening for child abuse or neglect. So we naively wrote down where the accident happened...

...and--here is where we were really stupid--we assumed our HEALTH insurance would pay for it. ER visits, broken bones, X-rays, sprained wrists--isn't that why you have health insurance? But nope. Your health insurance only has to cover that stuff if the accident happens in your own home. Otherwise they are perfectly free--and have the legal right--to stick your friends (or neighbors or grocery store or town or church or whoever) with the bill. As you can imagine, this can create some social awkwardness.

Fortunately for us (and them), our friends have homeowners insurance with a great company. (Did you know your homeowners insurance isn't only in case of fire? It's also in case of David.) Our friends are also smart--they could see what was going on and knew not to take it personally. It's good to have smart friends. Our friends also have a sense of humor. I might even be able to crawl out of my hole--that's how nice they are.

If nothing else, this has been a learning experience for me.

And you too. Here is what you have learned: If we are coming to your house, please ask us to sign a waiver at the door. (Gina, you'd better get on that.)

(By the way. Forget Texas. I'm going to Canada.)

Thanks for the visit

We miss you.

And yet another Sunday drive

We have a tradition of Sunday drives in this family (see here, here, or here). So, with Greg in town, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for some stunning scenery, sacked out kids in car seats, and quiet conversation with my very favorite person in the whole world.

Our drive included part of the Alpine Scenic Loop, a stop at Cascade Springs, and a steep descent into the Heber Valley.

I would be remiss if I didn't pause to point out that David is no Nature-Boy. The woods scare him, as he often reminds us. And heaven help that kid if he has to walk more than 3 feet on his own. Fortunately for him, the trails at Cascade Springs were stroller-friendly. So he sat in his stroller with his nose buried in a newspaper that was serving as his "bear computer"--a computer that shows us where the bears are. Oh wait--he did get out of the stroller for a minute to play with some little sticks. When I asked him to keep walking, he hissed, "Don't bother me! I'm busy starting a forest fire!" What!?! That kid really does hate nature, doesn't he?

Mary's favorite part was eating Ding-Dongs in the car. Yes, Sunday drives often involve bribes. Come to think of it, I think everything in our family often involves bribes. Oh well...it was worth it...

It was a lovely afternoon--bear computers, Ding-Dongs, and all.

On top of the world

Their daddy is here this weekend:

They (we) are on top of the world!

August afternoons

This month many an afternoon (though not many enough!) was spent in the company of Liz, my former college roommate and current very good ("very good " to the umpteenth power) friend, our two kids (each) in tow.

David, who loves nothing better than a good friend, was thrilled to have a new one. A new friend with whom to run wild in various museums, perform Otter Pop science experiments, play video games, wrestle, and laugh. They must be true friends--because they bickered and tattled, yet cried at each inevitable separation.

Meanwhile, Mary happily appointed herself primary caregiver of "the baby"--who is really only a few months younger than Mary herself. Mary would shout with delight at the prospect of spending another afternoon with the "bee-bee." Mary made sure the baby never went without a bottle. She showered on her kisses and hugs and all kinds of toys. She tattled on the baby when she wandered too far up the stairs, played near her, and happily shared her bananas.

So, yes, the kids had a good time. But the very best part was how much time I got to spend with Liz. It certainly wasn't uninterrupted time--four little ones made it virtually impossible to carry on any sort of coherent conversation--but it was time nonetheless. We spent so much time together as young single adults, and, despite the chaos, it was fun and rewarding and refreshing to spend time together as mothers.

We did have one precious afternoon of girl time. Liz managed to find a babysitter for the boys (during Girls Camp week! thank you Liz for accomplishing a miracle!), and we girls headed to a local Mexican restaurant for chips, salsa, diet Coke, and real conversation--what else do you need? Mary cared for the baby, and Liz and I finally TALKED. Like really TALKED. Like grown-ups. It was absolutely by far the most glorious two hours I've had since Greg left. My heart is full of gratitude for Liz, her friendship, and the example she is to me (...and how generous with her time she was for my sake even though she's in the middle of a million different things right now).

For me, motherhood is often a rocky path. When I'm even on the path! Most of the time I feel like I'm lost.

It's good to have company.

Pink

Mary in her pink dress eating her pink ice cream on her pink ice cream cone...

Thank you to my sister-in-law for allowing me to invite myself and my kids over for ice cream and then feeding us a delicious, traditional Sunday dinner. What a treat!

(So one great thing about this summer has been hooking my kids up with their cousins for play dates...and what is so great about that is the time I've been able to spend with my sisters-in-law. I feel like I have become much closer to my husband's sister as well as my brother's wife. They are amazing women, and I have loved hanging out with them this summer! I will definitely miss seeing them regularly.)

# 15

I am also procrastinating...

calling Lenovo to ask why the wireless capability on my laptop randomly turns off all the time.

Honey do

Greg will soon be interviewing for one of the Air Force's civil engineer PhD slots. If he is awarded one of these slots, then we will be off to school next fall. This is what Greg really wants to do, so this interview feels very important. (I think we're both trying not to be insanely nervous about it: *breath, pray, trust, breath, pray, trust*.)

But here is my point, for this post anyway--

Since the interview will take place in Ohio, Greg is going to stop and see us "on the way." (I'm not quite sure when Salt Lake City became "on the way" to Dayton from Honduras, but, hey, I'm not complaining.)

My children will have a precious weekend with their father.

I will have a precious weekend with my husband.

Since I know Greg is coming--he has airplane tickets--I am now officially procrastinating. I am procrastinating doing those things that I am perfectly capable (okay, semi-capable) of taking care of myself, but would so, so, so much rather Greg do instead:

1. Haircuts
2. Fix my printer
3. Back up my new blog
4. Back up my hard drive
5. Transfer my video files to a portable hard drive
6. Renew my MacAfee subscription
7. Put the cargo box on the roof rack
8. Pack the cargo box
9. Mail my big boxes to Texas
10. Change the oil in the car
11. Vacuum the car interior
12. Fix the chest of drawers
13. Dispose of the broken fan
14. Deep clean the humidifiers

Sounds like it will be a fun weekend, huh? I hope Greg will want to come see us again! (At least he will know he is needed.)

Meanwhile, in Comayagua...

Because of the current political situation in Honduras, the U.S. military members have been confined to base. Finally, some of the restrictions were lifted just a tad, and they are now able to travel on the weekend, during the daytime, to the nearby town of Comayagua--which was the original capital of Honduras, during colonial times.

Greg and some friends visited Comayagua today.

You can click on the pictures to see Greg's brief descriptions.

What a relief it must have been to finally get off of the small air base! And I know Greg is looking forward to seeing much more of the country when the situation is resolved (which we all hope is soon!).

(These pictures makes me homesick for the D.R....I think it's the crazy power lines. Oh, and the fence. Who knew corrugated metal could give me such warm memories?)

Train day

Today we (we = me, David, Mary, my mom, and Aunt Marie) rode the train to Ogden, where we then went to the railroad museum in the old Union Station. Lots of trains, lots of fun!

(Big train, little girl)